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Darcy Abernathy
Appearance Darcy is a tall with a fairly stocky build, appearing to be a little chubby around the middle though he does maintain a bit of the lean muscle he used to have when he ran cross country in high school. His hair is thick and wavy, sporting the knotted cords that are typical of his breed and almost always seems to fall in front of his face so that it obscures his eyes. No one really knows how he's able to see with his hair constantly in his eyes, but he's able to manage somehow. Darcy always takes care to keep his hair clean and neat to prevent it from becoming matted, and rarely ever trims it unless it becomes too long and thick to consistently manage. When his eyes are visible, they are a warm honey-amber color, and seem to shine with an almost child-like sense of wonder and a hint of uncertainty. Darcy is farsighted, and wears corrective glasses to be able to see things and read text that is up close. He has contact lenses that he wears on occasion as well, but he prefers to wear his glasses because he is much more used to them. He is also an asthmatic, and carries around both a fast-acting salbutamol inhaler as well as a fluticasone propionate inhaler for long-term control at all times in case of emergencies. He says that his asthma tends to be mild most of the time and doesn't interfere with his daily activities, but is prone to worsening when he overexerts himself and can potentially become a risk for an asthma attack. He says that his asthma is mostly genetic, as it was common on his father's side, but it had gotten steadily worse throughout his childhood because his mom tended to smoke rather heavily. Darcy is also a synthesthete, in which stimulation of one of his senses triggers involuntary experiences in another sensory pathway. He has four different forms of synesthesia, grapheme-color (assocation of letters/numbers with colors), chromesthesia (hearing sounds trigger displays of colors), emotion-color (associates emotions with certain colors), and flavor-color (different flavors trigger displays of colors). Darcy rarely talks about his condition, however, due to past experiences of being ridiculed and bullied because of his so-called freakish ability to 'see sounds' and 'taste colors'. He states that it broadens his imagination by perceiving different sounds and flavors of foods as bursts of colors, and he is able to sing and play instruments with perfect pitch because of his ability to associate certain notes and keys with different colors. This inspired him to take up music after problems with his asthma forced him to quit cross country. However, because of his condition, Darcy doesn't like to hang around in crowded places because the constant barrage of noises can cause a sensory overload, but he is otherwise quite happy with living his life as it is. Darcy primarily prefers to wear hoodies, as the large front pocket makes it convenient to carry around his inhalers and everything else he needs so they're always close by when he needs them. His wardrobe consists mainly of hoodies in various colors and styles, his favorite one being a white and dark grey hoodie with a stylized design of the character Totoro that includes small ears on the hood. He typically wears a simple white polo shirt underneath, with dark blue jeans and black-grey sneakers. He wears a pendant with a [https://sites.create-cdn.net/siteimages/22/3/1/223138/84/9/8/8498202/468x500.jpg?1398769703 Welsh Dragon] charm made of pewter around his neck, which was a Christmas gift he had gotten from [[Keahi Karim|Keahi]] and [[Armene Karim|Armene]] after they had been friends for four years. The pewter charm has turned a dark grey color from tarnish after years upon years of wear and exposure, but Darcy treasures it and takes very good care to maintain it because it is a very special gift from his best friends. Personality Darcy is seen as very shy and almost seems to be constantly anxious, he had always been known to be a quiet individual throughout most of his childhood because others poked fun at his strange condition. He rarely speaks unless he is spoken to, and has a tendency to mumble to himself out loud when he is deep in thought. He tends to perform certain gestures such as twirling his hair in his fingers or rubbing the pewter dragon charm on his pendant between his thumb and index finger when he's nervous, and when he feels overwhelmed he will often shut down entirely, refusing to speak a word and avoiding all eye contact. However, his anxiety has slowly waned in his adulthood, and he has a bit of an easier time talking with strangers, although he still needs a bit of encouragement to approach them. He also came to be more open with his feelings around friends, and is often seen enjoying casual conversation with them and cracking jokes. Darcy often says that he had trouble with making friends as a kid, and though some had come and gone, [[Keahi Karim|Keahi]] and his sister [[Armene Karim|Armene]] have consistently stayed with him all throughout school, and he considers them to be his true best friends. He also has a tendency to hide his eyes behind his hair whenever he feels emotional or when he cries, mainly because he doesn't want others to worry about him or feel like he's imposing his troubles onto them. Those who know Darcy well enough, however, can tell when he's upset by the telltale way he combs his hair in front of his face. Darcy's emotions can be difficult to read because his hair is almost always covering his eyes, but a cursory glance at his tail can hint at how he's feeling at the moment, wagging can indicate happiness or excitement, tucking between the legs can hint at fear or sadness, and fluffed out fur is a sign of anger. He rarely shows anger except under extreme circumstances, and is capable of hitting surprisingly hard if he is pushed to violence. However, Darcy prefers to avoid resorting to physical force if it can be helped, being a non-violent individual by nature. He will often feel guilty if he lashes out at someone out of anger, and will apologize profusely and ask if he can make it up to them somehow. Although he is more open about himself around friends, Darcy believes that he can best express himself through music. Unable to really engage in a lot of physical activity due to his asthma, he took up music classes in place of physical education during high school and learned to play a multitude of instruments. Darcy attributes his love of music to his mother, [[Mavis Abernathy]], who held a career as a very successful singer prior to her retirement following the death of his father and her husband, Frederick. He is also a very good singer, having been self-taught at home and drawing inspiration from his favorite musicians and when he would listen to his mom practicing and warming up her voice for her shows. However, Darcy won't usually sing in front of others unless encouraged to, he easily gets stage fright and more often than not his anxiety gets the better of him. Even when he was offered to perform in chorus in school, he refused due to his inability to sing in front of other people. [[Keahi Karim|Keahi]] often says that he believes Darcy has a lot of potential for a successful musical career, but he's too often held back due to his anxiety and his overall lack of self-confidence. Love & Romance Relationships